Quick Fact - Wild Justice
1890 Judge Beckley Campbell conducted court in a Benicia, California saloon. After hearing the evidence and deciding on a verdict in cases, he meted out punishments based on the result of tossing two dice in…
California
Embassy Club (Gardena, CA)
Ernest "Ernie" J. Primm
Gambling
Gambling Laws / Regulations: CA Anti-Gambling Act
Games / Races: Poker
Gardena--California
It Really Happened
Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit
Monterey Club (Gardena, CA)
Politicians / Politics: CA California Attorney General Ulysses Webb
United States
Webb's Wacky War On Poker
1936-Present If it weren’t for gambler Ernest J. Primm’s nerve and fortitude, California’s nearly 90 card clubs wouldn’t exist today. With a gambling license from the city of Gardena (in Los Angeles County), he opened…
Did You Know?
Gambling
Games / Races: Chuck-a-luck
Games / Races: Fantan
Games / Races: Faro
Games / Races: Poker
Games / Races: Red-and-black
Games / Races: Rondo
Games / Races: Rouge-et-noir
Quick Facts
Reno--Nevada
Quick Fact - Gambling Feast
1887 A newspaper blurb touting the availability of gambling in Reno, Nevada titled, A Feast for the Gamblers, read: “Those who delight in gambling sports can be accommodated in Reno … no less than thirty-one…
Quick Fact - Preacher Shill
1958 Reverend Maurice D. Tulloch, 50, a Kansas man, gave up his Baptist ministry for shilling in a Nevada casino. Feeling as though his life was suffocating him, a month earlier he’d walked out of…
Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Suicide
Divorce / Annulment
Gambling
Games / Races: 21 / Blackjack
It Really Happened
John Steinbeck
Newell Benningfield
Reno--Nevada
West Indies Club (Reno, NV)
Mrs. John Steinbeck's Tale of Woe
1948-1950 Tragedy struck when the wife of famed American novelist, John Steinbeck, was in Reno, Nevada for a quickie divorce from him after 5½ years of marriage. In 1948, while establishing residency in The Biggest…
Gambling
Gambling Laws / Regulations: Nevada Revised Statute 293.830
Gambling Laws / Regulations: Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act
Gambling: Election / Political
It Really Happened
Nevada
Politicians / Politics: Elections
Politicians / Politics: Richard Nixon
Politicians / Politics: U.S. President John F. Kennedy
Quick Facts
Quick Fact - Political Bets
1960 Bookies throughout Nevada had been taking wagers right and left on who’d win the upcoming U.S. presidential election — Senator John F. Kennedy (Dem.) or Vice President Richard Nixon (Rep.). Suddenly, in November, they…
Did You Know?
Gambling
Games / Races: Poker
It Really Happened
Quick Facts
Steamboat Springs (Reno, NV)
Virginia City--Nevada
Quick Fact - Steamboat Springs
1860s & 1870s In Virginia City, Nevada’s heyday, gold miners and magnates alike sought out R&R — gambling, hot springs soaking and dining — at the nearby Steamboat Springs resort south of Reno, a stop…
Gambling
Iowa
It Really Happened
Minnesota
Politicians / Politics: IA Governor Clyde Herring
Politicians / Politics: MN Governor Floyd Olson
Ante Up Your Pig
1935 When two United States state governors made a friendly bet, neither knew it would become problematic. They wagered each other their state would win the upcoming football rivalry between the Minnesota Golden Gophers, a…
California
Club Primadonna (Reno, NV)
Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Tax Evasion
Did You Know?
Ernest "Ernie" J. Primm
Gambling
Gambling: Shills
Games / Races: Poker
Gardena--California
Quick Facts
Quick Fact - Shill Losses
1952 When Ernest J. Primm owned the Monterey Club, a poker house in Gardena, California (a Los Angeles suburb), he claimed on his state income taxes the losses of his shills, up to $500 ($4,500 today) a…
Did You Know?
Gambling
Gambling Laws / Regulations
Nevada
Politicians / Politics: NV Governor Frederick "Fred" Balzar
Quick Facts
Quick Fact - Seer Balzar
1930 In December, while vacationing in Southern California, Nevada Governor Frederick “Fred” Balzar — foretelling the future — told reporters that gambling already was wide open in his state and that a bill making it…
Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing
Gambling
Games / Races: 21 / Blackjack
Games / Races: Poker
Games / Races: Slot Machines / Fruities
Horseshoe Club / Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel (Las Vegas, NV)
It Really Happened
The Ramada Hotel Casino (Reno, NV)
United States
Virginia City--Nevada
The Faro Fadeaway
1825-1958 The hottest game in the Old West between 1825 and 1915, faro is pretty much extinct in the United States today. If you’ve never heard of it — and you aren’t alone there —…
Caesars Palace (Las Vegas, NV)
Frank Sinatra
Gambling
Games / Races: Baccarat
Howard Hughes
It Really Happened
Las Vegas--Nevada
Sands (Las Vegas, NV)
Frank Sinatra's Hissy Fits
1967 & 1970 Apparently, the beloved crooner Frank Sinatra, Sr. had a temper, which he sometimes unleashed when casino operators denied him additional, excessive amounts of credit when gambling. In one instance when Sinatra lost…
Club 86 (Miami, FL)
Florida
Gambling
Games / Races: Chemin de Fer
Games / Races: Chuck-a-luck
Games / Races: Craps
Games / Races: Roulette
It Really Happened
Swanky Miami Casino-Fortress
1945-1950 Although gambling was illegal in Miami, Florida, in the 1940s, one lavish casino operated there for five years with the blessing of the local sheriff. Club 86, on Biscayne Boulevard, which belonged to local…
Quick Fact - Train Hustlers
1935 Stanford University’s (California) Indians and Southern Methodist University’s (Texas) Mustangs were to vie in the Rose Bowl football game on New Year’s Day, and this meant trains of people traveling from The Lone Star State to…
Gambling Addiction Support: The Early Days
1958-present Las Vegas, Nevada resident Howie C. had gambled so much during the 1950s and ’60s that he owed banks, finance companies and loan sharks. He often had borrowed money from his mom and even…
Casino, Gambling Saloon, Card Club, Slot Route Owners / Operators / Licensees / Gamblers
Casinos / Gambling Saloons / Card Clubs / Slot Routes / Wire Services / Hotels / Racetracks / Racinos
Did You Know?
Gambling
Games / Races: Bingo
Games / Races: Craps
Games / Races: Slot Machines / Fruities
Las Vegas--Nevada
Quick Facts
Quick Fact - Playing Incentives
1947 To keep players gambling at their clubs, Las Vegas, Nevada casinos boosted incentives with offerings such as double odds on craps, bingo prizes of $1,000 ($10,900 today), extra slot machine jackpots and brand new…